South Korea's land ministry has issued nearly 20 approvals on test runs of self-driving cars since February 2016. Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's No. 1 carmaker, earned the first approval.

Samsung's self-driving automobile is a commercialized Hyundai vehicle equipped with the latest cameras and sensors.

The ministry said it has been seeking to ease regulations on self-driving cars to bolster industry growth. Accordingly, the ministry reduced the number of mandatory passengers of such cars to one from the previous two. It also paved the way for the production of cars without steering wheels or pedals.

"Self-driving cars call for the collaboration of various cutting-edge technologies from the automobile, artificial intelligence and information communication sectors," the ministry said, adding it will continue efforts to establish a favorable environment for the sector's growth. (Yonhap)